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Frederic Remington (1861-1909) was the most popular artist
in America at the turn of the last century. He had produced over three thousand
signed flat works, eight books, and twenty-two bronzes when he died at the
age of forty-eight. America was introduced to him through his many illustrations
for the popular magazines of the day; Harper's, The Century, Collier's and
many more.

Richard Lorenz was a contemporary of Remington along with
other Wisconsin artists featured at the Museum of Wisconsin Art including
John Fery (1861-1909), Franz Biberstein (1850-1930) and, to a lesser extent,
Henry Vianden (1814-1899). All were born in Europe and worked in Wisconsin
yet were drawn westward by the same elements that inspired Remington: wide
open spaces, a unique landscape, cowboys, cattle, buffalo, Native-Americans.
These were all things that physically realized the lore and stereotypical
images of the American west that they brought with them from Europe. These
pictures are the result of these artists seeking the truth for themselves.

The Remington prints, which date nearly to the beginning
of Remington's illustration career, all fit into the category of reproduction.
Remington, in each case, produced an original work of art, which the various
magazines and publishers would reproduce mechanically. Usually, the publishers
would make them in large, unrecorded, numbers, according to market demand.
By far, the most numerous prints were those published by Collier's
-- both in the number of images
made, and the large numbers of each that they printed. Remington had a contract
with Collier's to produce a painting a month beginning in 1902. Each
painting would be featured in color inside the magazine, and offered for
sale through mail order. They were often reprinted in different sizes, and
marketed in different groupings. Remington's diaries show that he burned
numerous paintings. As he evolved from an illustrator to an acclaimed painter,
he did not want to be remembered for his more illustrative work. Sometimes,
the prints are the best record of a painting's existence. (right:
Frederic Remington (1861-1909), The Great Explorers IV - Radisson,
color halftone, 1905. Courtesy of The Frederic Remington Art Museum, Ogdensburg,
New York )

The prints in this exhibition, and almost one hundred more
like them, were the way most people, for the past century, enjoyed Frederic
Remington's work. Frederic Remington's original paintings and drawings are
plentiful (and expensive) but finite. Most people did not have access to
Remington paintings, but the prints were very popular substitutes. They
were commonplace in ordinary homes. When we look at these prints today,
we see Remington's art as most people of his time experienced it.

The showing in West Bend, Wisconsin is part of a nine city
national tour over a two and a half year period containing fifty prints,
three fine silver recast sculptures and one bronze portrait of Remington.
The tour was developed and managed by Smith Kramer Fine Art Services, an
exhibition tour development company in Kansas City, Missouri.

About Smith Kramer Fine Art Services

Founded in 1981 by David Smith, Smith Kramer Fine Art Services
has enjoyed twenty-five years of growth in serving the art community. In
partnership with the institutions and collectors, Smith Kramer Fine Art
Services budgets, markets, crates, insures, transports, and handles all
services of the exhibition from concept to completion. -- edited
text, courtesy Smith Kramer Fine Art Services. Also see
The David Smith Story: Sharing the Arts
(11/14/97).

Introductory text panel from the exhibition

"No American artist interests the people more
than Remington does, and none is really better worth going to see."

Frederic Remington (1861-1909) was the most popular artist
in America at the turn of the last century. He had produced over three
thousand signed flat works, eight books, and twenty-two bronzes when he
died at the age of forty-eight. America was introduced to him through his
many illustrations for the popular magazines of the day: Harper's,
The Century, Collier's and many more.

The prints, which date nearly to the beginning of Remington's
illustration career, all fit into the category of reproduction. Remington,
in each case, produced an original work of art, which the various magazines
and publishers would reproduce mechanically. Usually, the publishers would
make them in large, unrecorded, numbers, according to market demand. By
far, the most numerous prints were those published by Collier's - both
in the number of images made, and the large numbers of each that they printed.
Remington had a contract with Collier's to produce a painting a month beginning
in 1902. Each painting would be featured in color inside the magazine,
and offered for sale through mail order. They were often reprinted in different
sizes, and marketed in different groupings. Remington's diaries show that
he burned numerous paintings. As he evolved from an illustrator to an acclaimed
painter, he did not want to be remembered for his more illustrative work.
Sometimes, the prints are the best record of a painting's existence.

The prints in this exhibition, and almost one hundred
more like them, were the way most people, for the past century, enjoyed
Frederic Remington's work. Frederic Remington's original paintings and
drawings are plentiful (and expensive) but finite. Most people did not
have access to Remington paintings, but the prints were very popular substitutes.
They were commonplace in ordinary homes. When we look at these prints today,
we see Remington's art as most people of his time experienced it.

Museum panel from the exhibition

The Frederic Remington Art Museum is in Ogdensburg, New
York, on Remington's beloved St. Lawrence River. Between 1915 and 1918,
Frederic Remington's widow, Eva, lived in the house that became the museum
in 1923. When she died in 1918, she left her collection of Frederic Remington's
paintings, drawings, bronze sculptures and vast archives to the people
of the city of Ogdensburg. Based on the theme of so much of his work, many
assume that Remington was a westerner. However, he spent most of his life
in New York State. In fact, he was born and buried in Canton, New York,
spent part of his boyhood in Ogdensburg, and visited the area every summer.
Situated at the very top of New York, north of the Adirondack Mountains,
this area was Remington's northern wilderness and summer playground. It
is a fitting place for the museum.

The collection has grown since the founding gift, thanks
to many generous donations of Remington art and archival materials. The
facility has grown to meet increased needs, with gallery and collections
space added in 1976 and in 1996. In 2004, the museum opened the Eva Caten
Remington Education Center, adding hands-on children's exhibits and classroom
space. The museum is open year-round.

The mission of the Frederic Remington Art Museum is to
collect, exhibit, preserve and interpret the art and archives of Frederic
Remington. The Museum fosters an appreciation for and an understanding
of the artist by educating its audience in the visual arts and by providing
a context for Remington's life in Northern New York.

Wall labels from the exhibition

A Navajo Sheep-Herder

1888

published 1888 in John Muir's Picturesque California by

The J. Dewing Company

black and white photogravure

Fight for the Waterhole

a.k.a. An Arizona Waterhole

a.k.a. A Water-hole in the Arizona Desert

1903

copyright 1908 and printed in Collier's Weekly

color halftone

The Charge

a.k.a. A Cavalry Scrap

1906

edition printed and published 1910 in Collier's Weekly

color halftone

The Emigrants

1904

published 1910 in Collier's catalog

color halftone

The Navajo Raid

1907

published 1910 in Collier's Weekly

color halftone

The Sioux Chief

a.k.a. A War Chief

part of A Bunch of Buckskins series of eight, a portfolio by R. H.
Russell

1901

edition printed 1901

color lithograph

The Half-Breed

1902

one of four published 1902 by Charles Scribner's Sons and sold boxed
as

Western Types

color halftone

The Scout

1902

third of four published by Charles Scribner's Sons 1902 and sold boxed

as Western Types

color halftone

Goose Shooting

a.k.a. Canada Goose Shooting

a.k.a. Pheasant Shooting

1889

from portfolio edited by A.C. Gould

titled Sport: or Shooting and Fishing

Bradless, Whidden Publishing Co. 1889

chromolithograph

The Great Explorers IV-Radisson

a.k.a. Pierre Radisson

a.k.a. Exploring the Lakes

a.k.a. Radisson and Groseillers

1905

published 1906 in Collier's Weekly

color halftone

The Great Explorers IX-Zebulon Pike

a.k.a. Zebulon Pike Entering Santa Fe

a.k.a. A Spanish Escort

1905

printed 1906 in Collier's Weekly

color halftone

The Great Explorers X-Jedediah Smith

1905

published 1906 in Collier's Weekly

color halftone

Bringing Home the New Cook

1907

edition published 1907 in Collier's Weekly

color halftone

Shotgun Hospitality

a.k.a. Shot Gun Hospitality

1908

published 1910 in Collier's Weekly

color halftone

The Stampede by Lightning

a.k.a. The Stampede

1908

published 1911 in Collier's Weekly

color halftone

The End of the Day

1904

printed and offered as full-color "artist's proof" in Collier's
catalog

in 1906

color halftone

Dash for the Timber

1889

published in 1890 by The Gravure Etching Company

black-and-white photoengraving

A "Sun Fisher"

a.k.a. A "Sunfisher"

1895

published 1895 by Davis & Sanford Co

black-and-white lithograph

Soldiers Opening Their Veins for Want of Water

a.k.a. After the Skirmish

1896

published 1898 by The Werner Co., Akron, Ohio,

black-and-white rotogravure

Missing

a.k.a. The Captive

1899

printed 1899 by R. H. Russell

black-and-white platinum print

A Monte Game at Southern Ute Agency

a.k.a. Mexican Monte

a.k.a. Card Game at Ignacio

1900

published in 1906 as black-and-white "artist's proof" on
pebbled art

paper by Collier's Weekly

color halftone

Indians Simulating Buffalo

a.k.a. Indians Disguised as Buffalo

1908

published 1909 in Collier's Weekly

color halftone

The Scouts

1908

published 1908 in Collier's Weekly

color halftone

With the Eye of the Mind

1908

published 1909 in Collier's Weekly

color halftone

An Arizona Cowboy

part of A Bunch of Buckskins series of eight, a portfolio by R. H.
Russell

1901

edition printed 1901

color lithograph

Coming to the Call

1905

edition printed and offered as full-color "artist's proofs"
in Collier's

catalogs in 1906/1907

color halftone

Evening on a Canadian Lake

1905

published 1905 in Collier's Weekly

color halftone

The Howl of the Weather

a.k.a. The Squall

1905/1906

published 1907 in Collier's Weekly

color halftone

Drifting Before the Storm

1904

published 1904 in Collier's Weekly

color halftone

The Bell Mare

a.k.a. In the Enemy's Country

a.k.a. Pack Train in Moonlight

1903

edition printed as part of portfolio of Six Remington Paintings in
Color